(Hardcore) Quote (from a Veteran) of the Day

“When I was nineteen and a soldier, I often wondered how I was going to be if I knew I was going to die. At one point, we were ambushed in the paddy fields, just four of us surrounded by Chinese. And my instinct — which has lasted me the rest of my life — was: All right, I’m going to die. And that’s O.K. But” — he paused and levelled a heavy finger at the recollected enemy, and at any future adversaries — “as many of you as possible are going to die with me. I’ll take the whole fucking lot.” He grinned. “I’m going to die expensive.”

By the way, if you're looking for a primer in the effects of massed firepower delivered by disciplined infantrymen, you could do worse than to watch this Caine classic.*

*One amusing feature of this movie is listening to Caine -- born and raised in working-class South London -- trying to affect a middle-class Home Counties accent. Almost as good/awful as Sean Connery's infamous Russian accent.